Mick Foley was one of the most versatile performers in pro wrestling during his time in the ring. He was known for having multiple different characters throughout his career ranging from the dark and violent Cactus Jack to the tie-dye-wearing hippy Dude Love as well as the deranged Mankind.
Part of the reason he was able to move between all of these disparate characters was his ability to cut promos in multiple styles to suit the context he was working in.
Now, the WWE Hall of Famer has explained his process for putting promos together.
Mick Foley explains how he comes up with promos
On the latest episode of Foley is Pod (available early on AdFreeShows) which covered his babyface turn in WCW that led to a match against Paul Orndorff at Superbrawl III, the star revealed that he never practiced a promo out loud, but would often do it in his mind.
“I never practiced a promo. I had them in my head, usually cutting them in the car. Sometimes I would cut them at the gym.”
Even though he was just thinking through the promos, Foley admitted that it was obvious what he was doing to the people around him.
“There were two tells, fingers twitching, right eye twitching. [My wife] would tell me people would be staring at me because a few minutes would go by and I’d be lost in my own world.
“Then she’d tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘You’re cutting promos, aren’t you’.”
Foley went on to discuss finding it fun to join up the things he had thought up in his head as he cut a live promo, saying it was like putting a puzzle together.
He then explained that he believes that promos should not only sell the match and build the wrestler cutting them, but also their opponents.
“You’re looking to draw money with your promo, but on another level you’re also looking to build your character and you need to build the guys you’re working with even more so that, win, lose, or draw, you’re doing it against the best person possible.
The legend says it always “gets to him” when he sees someone verbally tearing down their opponent as it reflects badly on everyone involved in the match.
“It always got to me when someone would dismiss his opponent as being a joke or piece of garbage. Because then the old adage is if that’s the case and you win, you beat a piece of garbage. If you lose, you lost to a piece of garbage.
“So, you’re trying to build up your opponent without making it absolutely clear to everybody that’s your intention.”
Mick Foley also recently revealed that Stephanie McMahonmade a gesture that meant a lot to him.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the original source and give an H/T to Inside The Ropes for the transcription.